Former dispatcher arrested for robbing hotel with toy gun

He said he wanted to be a policeman and even had the paperwork to apply for the job. Instead, 21-year-old Justin Elliott is in jail, charged with robbing a Danville hotel. Police think the former Jessamine County dispatcher may also be behind robberies in Lexington and Nicholasville too.

He doesn't try to hide what he plans to be one day. 21-year-old Justin Elliott, a former dispatcher for Jessamine County, lists it all clearly on his Facebook page.His dream is to one day be a cop and to work for the FBI, but for two weeks he's been under surveillance by authorities. He has been a suspect in robberies in Lexington, Danville, and Nicholasville.

"We ended up following this suspect for the last couple days and last night while following the suspect he entered Boyle County," says Sergeant Scott Harvey with Nicholasville Police.

Police say he then robbed the Country Hearth Inn, armed with a toy handgun. Multiple agencies immediately caught up with him, and in his car, found the money, weapon, and sweatshirt he wore in this robbery, as well as an application for the Danville Police Department. He's now being charged with close to a dozen robberies in the area, using a knife and gun, although police say it could have been a toy gun all along.

"If you display a gun or threaten you have a gun, the charge is the same. Doesn't matter if it's a functioning gun or a toy gun," says Sgt. Harvey.

As for Justin Elliott, police tell me they are looking into whether he is responsible for any other robberies.

Lexington Police say it was a tip through Crime Stoppers that helped connect Justin Elliott to some of the Lexington robberies. He is expected to face at least ten charges for robberies in Central Kentucky.

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